Several years ago, during my eBay heyday, I bought several boys’ basketball state tournament programs from the mid-1950s. Tucked among them was a University of Minnesota men’s basketball program from the same era that, as luck would have it, turned out to be the most interesting item of the lot.

There, pictured among the mighty Gophers on the team page, was a gangly freshman from Waseca. Of course I knew him, but had no idea he was once a member of the U’s varsity basketball team. It was cool.

I tried to drop the program at his house in Waseca a number of times, but that’s when we still had our old soccer mom van, and it probably made me look like someone seeking donations when I stepped out of it and rang his doorbell with program in hand. He never answered the door.

An obituary that showed up last Tuesday and appears in this week’s Star Eagle brought it all back, and made me a little sad for not connecting with Dr. Wesley Rethwill before he passed. He was a pillar of the community, the epitome of a family man, respectful of everyone and, in turn, someone who commanded great respect.

Dr. Rethwill was my dentist. I grew up in the same neighborhood as his family. We went to the same church. I graduated with his daughter Carrie and covered his son Wesley Jr. in track and field. So many stories come to mind.

Let’s start with Halloween. A must-stop in the neighborhood was the Rethwill home. The good doctor and his wife were always excited to see who showed up. They made visitors remove their masks. They were genuinely happy to everyone and took time to chat. And they always gave away a toothbrush and accessories.

It was the summer after third grade when I really got to know Dr. Rethwill. A swing-set incident led to my top front tooth being split down the middle. I remember standing on the front steps of our house when Dr. Rethwill, making an emergency house call a half-block away, declared, “We’ve got to pull it.” I remember taking a shot of Novocain in the roof of my mouth but not much after that. I was proud when he told my mom I did not “bat an eye.” Dr. Rethwill was a good dentist and a kind man.

One time, a few years earlier, Carrie left a backyard baseball game early one evening, saying she and her brother were putting on a play for their parents. I looked at Rick Thomez and we rolled our eyes and probably laughed about it after she left. Now, looking back, it’s like, how cool was that? We should all have such parents. It’s a safe bet Dr. Rethwill had good parenting himself, because he — along with his wife, Carol — sure did a stellar job raising Carrie and Wes. They were (and surely still are) extremely smart, nice, respectful people who in turn receive great respect.

One last story comes to mind. Dr. Rethwill used to spend countless hours working with Wesley Jr. at the track, undoubtedly his biggest fan. Wes, though, had a tremendous rival on his own team, a runner by the name of Todd Moxley, a real stallion who qualified for the Class AA state cross country meet as a freshman. Wes Jr. was always chasing Mox. Wes Sr. always did his best to help.

The big moment came when both were seniors and Waseca was hosting the conference track meet. With Wesley Sr. cheering every step, Wes Jr. not only caught, but beat Moxley to win the 1600.

It was surely a highlight in a highlight-reel kind of life for Dr. Rethwill, the ultimate family man who left this world too soon.

The scurs have certainly have had the rain dance down this growing season. Will they come through with a sun dance for this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a modest chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Mostly sunny for Friday with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 60s. Mostly sunny for Saturday and Sunday with a slight chance of shower or thunderstorm both days. Highs in the upper 70s and lows near 60. Monday, mostly sunny becoming partly to mostly cloudy with a modest chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. On July 1st we will have lost approximately 3 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice. The normal high for July 1st is 82 and the normal low is 61. The scurs will be floating on their rubber ducky if it isn’t raining of course.

More heartbreak in area fields as farmers attempted to get one last push in before most contemplate throwing in the towel. Many tractor, sprayer and other equipment operators found themselves stuck as they tried desperately to maneuver around the wet spots. It has been a miserable planting season and one we can’t get behind us fast enough. Measurable precipitation has fallen now 15 out the 25 days in June thus far at the ranch. While not threatening the 8+” of precipitation in May, the frequency of rain is rivaling it. Some of the early June planted corn actually looks all right. The stands are uniform and not characterized by the large blank spots typical of some of the mid May plantings. Post emerge spraying on corn has been an absolute fright due to the wet fields not to mention the possibility of a sudden shower washing the herbicide off before it has a chance to work. Some are contemplating adding additional nitrogen to the corn although getting it applied may be difficult with a ground rig for a while. Soybeans have emerged almost as well as the June corn although after the heavy weekend downpours, areas of some fields are once again under water. Small grain fields generally speaking simply look ugly. The excess rains haven’t been kind to them either.

Lawns continue to make up for lost time after last year’s drought. One of the worst problems at the ranch has been the lack of dry conditions in which to mow. That and the mosquito population has been booming. I’ve come to dread the electric fencer being grounded out as that means a trip around the fence to contend with a continual swarm of not only mosquitoes but now deer flies as well. With no breeze usually about the time it happens, the easiest way to deal with them has been to put on the hooded sweatshirt and cinch the hood up tight so they can’t get at me. Sure it’s pretty warm but short of slathering myself with repellent, it’s a small price to pay as long as the AC is working in the truck when I hop back in. 

More of the old reliables are back at the feeders again, namely the rose-breasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings and an occasional chickadee. The orioles and catbirds are still active as are the hummingbirds although their feeders were becoming overrun by black ants. A quick trip to get a few ant guards after ridding the feeders of the pests and they’re remained ant free ever since. Now if I could just get the robin using the rain gauge as a toilet or the barn swallows attempting to build a nest over the front door to cease and desist. Around the countryside in my travels this past week, there were several sightings of pheasant broods, some of them as large as a dozen or so in a group. One possible benefit from all the prevented plant acreage may be the establishment of more diverse temporary habitat. Speaking of prevented planting, the garden here will provide very little in the way of habitat I’m afraid, unless you count the one hill of zucchini that made its way into the ground.

Some have inquired how the cut over my eye has healed. Fine, thanks, although no one ever told me that the surgical glue would take a good chunk of my eyebrow with it when it decided to let go. I must’ve caught it in my sleep one night because when I looked in the mirror the next morning, I felt a little like Uncle Leo from Seinfeld after his stove blew up. Perhaps I could get Elaine to draw the missing hair in with a marker. Mrs. Cheviot thought that perhaps I should just get the other one waxed to match. Given my propensity to drive the soccer mom van on excursions hither and yon, that might not be a bad idea. I could probably get my bikini wax at the same time.

See you next week…real good then.

My wife is leaving me.

No, not Michelle. My other wife, my professional wife.

What is a professional wife? Well, I’ve been working closely with special education teacher Heather Carlson for the past six years at NRHEG, and we decided at one point that we spent enough time together planning and teaching that we were basically married while at work.

At one point, Heather was in my classroom with her special needs students three class periods each day. We decided to try the grand experiment of including those students who have a learning disability related to English as much as possible. Where in the past, they had been pulled from the regular education classroom, Heather and I worked together to give them inclusion and help them grow in this learning environment.

The first couple of years were just as much of Heather learning as the kids. She was no slouch when it came to English, but there’s a difference between knowing English and teaching the subject. By the last couple of years, Heather could have taught my class by herself many days. (I’m somewhat of a control freak though, so that didn’t happen often.)

Heather is leaving NRHEG. She was offered a job in Waconia and took it, despite a lot of hand wringing before making that decision. Here’s the truth: I knew this day was coming from the time Heather started teaching with me.

To use an old story, Heather is a city mouse, not a country mouse. She grew up in the Cities and frequently went back home. I’m not sure she ever adjusted to life in our small communities; in fact, she lived in Owatonna and never seriously considered moving closer. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I could often sense a longing she had for a place with more “action” than we can provide.

I always thought if Heather could meet a nice young man from here, she might stay. But I think I was fooling myself; this was inevitable.

As she was working through her Master’s program, she started using the professional wife term, since it was referenced in her studies. And it fit, though I knew it was a relationship doomed to eventually end in divorce. Just like in any relationship, Heather overlooked some of my supposed flaws (a passion for Star Wars and Seinfeld, among others) since what worked was a good thing.

Heather was able to know where I wanted to go with students and help get them there. It wasn’t just her special education students either; many of the other students also felt comfortable working with her. When Waconia called me to ask about her strengths, that was one of the things I told them. I also told them how she was able to adjust and modify just about any crazy task I came up with to the abilities of her students.

Despite the ending of our professional relationship (and this is not like the “break” Ross and Rachel were on in Heather’s favorite show, Friends), I know I have made a lifelong friend in Heather. She will succeed in Waconia and anywhere else she decides to roam. Because I can’t help myself, I have to provide an analogy to one of the things she hated most: Star Wars. She was like my young Padawan learner, now ready to take her trials and become a full-fledged Jedi Knight. May the Force be with you, Heather!

To make matters worse, a second special education teacher I was working with, Stacie Ebnet-Dietz, is also departing NRHEG after just one year. Here I thought I had the makings of another professional wife since I knew Heather wasn’t long for us. Stacie understood my musical references from the ‘80s since we are close in age, but I wish her the best as well.

And because these things happen in threes (and since I already wrote about Mr. Cyr’s departure), my church is losing our priest, Fr. Swami. He is headed to Adams after five years of serving our cluster of Catholic churches. The passion Father provided for the Church will be missed, and I hope he does well in his new cluster and that the people of our parishes welcome his replacement warmly.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is animadversion, which is the act of criticizing or an unfavorable comment, as in, “I found it hard to come up with any animadversion about my departing colleagues.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Funeral services for Robert H. Phillips of Ellendale, MN, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 24, 2013 at St Mary’s Catholic Church Newry Township. Father Swamy will officiate. Visitation will be held Sunday, June 23, 2013 from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea, MN, and one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in St Mary’s Cemetery.

Robert died Thursday morning, June 20, 2013 at St Johns Lutheran Home in Albert Lea. He was 87 years of age.

Joseph Edward Skala, age 90, passed away June 19, 2013, at his son’s home in rural Blooming Prairie.

Joseph was born March, 3, 1923 in Bagley, MN, to parents Frank and Agnes (Matejcek) Skala. His mother passed away three weeks after birth, and in 1929, his great aunt Josephine and uncle John Kubicek brought him to their farm home in Summit Township and raised him after his father’s death.

He Joined the U.S. Army in June 16, 1946 serving in Korea and was honorably discharged November 14, 1947. Joe was united in marriage to Mary Ann Simon on May 17, 1949, where they farmed in the Litomysl area until retiring in 1986, moving to Owatonna.

Eileen D. Bittner, age 87, of Waldorf, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at the Christian Community Home in Hudson, Wisconsin following an extended illness. 

Funeral services will be held on Monday, June 24, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Waldorf, with Rev. Michael Mathews, officiating. Interment will be held at the church cemetery. 

Visitation will be held at the Arnoldt-McRaith Funeral Home & Crematory of Janesville on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. and for one hour prior to services at the church on Monday. 

It’s been a tough start to the season for the New Richland Reds amateur baseball team, which lost its first four games. The Reds fell 9-3 to the Waterville Indians and, in the Elko/New Market tournament, lost 6-5 to Spooner, Wis., 20-8 to New Market and 5-4 to the Metro Knights.

This week, the Reds host the Cleveland Spiders Wednesday at 7:30, play Friday at 7:30 at Blue Earth and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Minnesota Lake. They’re scheduled to host Hayfield Tuesday, June 25 at 7:30 and entertain Wells Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30.

Ellendale City Council

By SCOTT GROTH

Contributing Writer

The Ellendale City Council met Thursday June 13, with Mayor Swearingen, Councilmen Reiter, Groth and Lassahn present. Councilman Goebel was absent. Also in attendance were Steve Louks, clerk; Josh Otto, maintenance; Pete Paulson, MLS manager; and Matt Arthur.

The Community Center kitchen was brought up for discussion when Louks mentioned to that the Health Inspector had recently stopped by. The inspector, after meeting with Paulson, stopped by the clerk’s office and asked about the kitchen in the Community Center. The inspector’s questions were about what types of groups use the kitchen. Louks was told that groups who use the facility for fund-raisers should get a special use permit. The question was then raised, is the kitchen necessary? The council felt the kitchen is for the most part, one of the main reasons the center gets rented out. After further discussion the council will get some ideas for updates and bring to a future meeting.